So Many Adventures, So Little Recap

I've neglected you all! I deeply apologize. Particularly because I don't have much to say at the moment, so this just isn't much to work with...

I feel like I've been incredibly busy lately with different activities, though, so you'd think there'd be something to say.

Not really.

My words are dried up at the moment - I'll call sunstroke. But in a slightly dry, to-do list sort of way, here's what I've been up to in the last month and a half:

I went sailing!

I've gone twice now, once when there was no wind at all, and once when there was quite a bit of wind. Sailing is easier when you have wind to take you places, but it certainly is relaxing just bobbing in the water when there's no wind at all, so I'd say I really liked the actual sailing that happened the second time, but I don't regret that first, calm sailing experience at all. Actually, now that I think about it, the only similarity in my two sailing experiences was the type of boat; otherwise, everything was different. The first time I went sailing, it was me and my two roommates, with no wind, at 1pm on a Saturday. Just the girls lounging on the river. The second time was Friday evening, with 6 dudes, and lots of wind to take us zigzagging back and forth across the river. It was a lovely sunset cruise, and I'm mostly just glad we didn't tip over - and we picked up a fishing rod! Sorry buddy who lost it out there originally, but I don't think you'll be getting it back. It's a pretty nice rod.

And I want to go sailing all the time now.

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I went to a reception at the Australian Embassy!

Some embassies are super smart and realize that the best way to get meetings with Congressmen is by becoming friendly with the Schedulers. While we don't necessarily make the decision about whether we schedule a meeting, we certainly control how a request is presented and where to put you on the schedule, so it helps to be really nice to schedulers - FYI for anyone thinking to request something of one of us in the future...

The Australian Embassy decided to follow the direction of the Canadian Embassy and they hosted a reception specifically for Schedulers - this is exciting for two reasons: 1. we rarely get invitations directed to us, for us. So this one, like the other rare invites, have to note explicitly, "schedulers, this invitation is for YOU, not your boss!" Awesome. And, 2. unlike other staff who mingle frequently with their counterparts in other offices, schedulers are kind of stuck to our desks, and we prefer emailing to any other form of communication (it's nice to have a paper trail...), so we don't mingle as much. So it's nice to have a chance to actually meet people. I can't say I did meet many new schedulers at this reception, but the opportunity was there. And that's a good start. And I did meet a few Aussies with really great Aussie accents. And they had some delicious macaroons. So the reception was a success.

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I went to a puppy party!!!!

I apologize greatly for this - I don't have any pictures. I'm sorry! I was too busy snuggling with puppies to take pictures! And they were darling. About a week from being adopted, these 6 little french bulldogs were darling and so fun! My friend had one last gathering in another friend's backyard for us all to go and meet the puppies before they go to new families, and I enjoyed every second of it. One puppy just snuggled with me while I stood and chatted with some friends - he was in heaven. And so was I. And later, I went and sat next to a friend on a couch on the patio, and suddenly we had three little puppies sleeping on top of each other, between my friend and me, with two of them resting their precious little heads on my leg. They had worn themselves out running around the yard and tackling each other. ohmygoodnessicouldnotcontainmyselftheyweresoprecious!!!!!! I loved them.

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I went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for Memorial Day Weekend!!

And enjoyed another lovely Duck Beach experience. I hate to keep failing to live up to expectations of some of my family members regarding this annual holiday excursion, but I just don't use that weekend like the young ones do in the documentary they made a few years ago (my first year going down there). But I enjoyed a rather relaxing weekend of sunshine and warmth. I wasn't sure how the weekend would go beforehand, as it was chilly and rainy, but once we got there, the sun emerged and warmed up our lives, and it just warmer and prettier every day. One year, I'm going to plan my vacation days well enough that I can take some extra days off to enjoy the beach longer. Because it is gorgeous. I mainly played volleyball and bean bag toss, sat in the sun for a bit (on and off - I'm not good at just sitting or laying out, I get antsy too quickly), enjoyed our house's private beach access (we're such VIPs), and got a good tan to start out the Summer. And now, the Summer season is on! Hooray!

My friend drew this in the sand the day we left - Duck '13, QUACK! This is our year!

I made this crossword up with all the bananagrams tiles while we all played a game akin to charades at the house one night. I apparently don't sit still very well on vacation these days...

 This picture doesn't really show you much, but I really just wanted to convey how beautiful the nights were on the back deck of our house, overlooking the ocean. Full moon! So many stars - I miss those stars...

I dedicate this picture to my mother. Fish tacos - this place is the go-to spot for all Duckers in search of deliciousness. I actually got one fish, one shrimp taco (who am I?!). It was alright. No taco bell, but whatever.

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I've been playing sand volleyball whenever I can!

And I want to play every evening! The first night I played this season, it was a little chilly in the sand, and the sprinklers came on near the end, but we played hard and it was a lot of fun.  And then playing down at the beach was just fabulous. The sand was so soft! The sun was so warm! The breeze was just cool enough! I spent my whole afternoon/early evening yesterday playing as well - totally beat the errands and to-do list I had planned to do. I can go another day without groceries. I {heart} volleyball.

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I sure can't think of anything else I've done lately. Other than BIRTHDAY PARTYING IN CHICAGO! But that deserves its own post (which means you might get it in July...), and Instagram documented it decently well - not my best, but not my worst instagramming. Anyway, I'll re-live that weekend with you another day. Let's get back into the swing of blog things one step at a time. My lazy, Summer-crazed self can only do so much. But Ben, this post is for you - thanks for tough love texts this week to push me back to this blessed autobiography/public journal/random hangout that is my blog. Let's not wait so long to see each other again, shall we?

A Long-Overdue Recap and Loads of Pictures

So...not a whole lot happened since the last time I was on here - but the things that did happen were HUGE.

Most importantly, my oldest brother, Chris, and his family - also known as the Barlows-Wisconsin - came to visit! I love having my siblings visit, and I love living in a place where they visit often because of work and such. So I love when I hear from one of them saying they're going to be in town for work and we need to hang out. In fact, I'm very much looking forward to that with another sibling in a few weeks (!!!).

But this was an extra special visit because Chris and his family visited - of their own volition. Nothing brought them here but themselves. Spring break brought them here. Can I emphasize how cool this is?! My brother and his family chose, as their spring break trip, a trip to visit super fun Aunt Kate. ?!?!!!? I'm so flattered by it, I could punch someone. Out of pure joy.

I should have some friends and roommates jump on here as testimonials for my excitement about their impending visit, before they came:

"I hung out with Kate Friday night, and all she could talk about was how she couldn't wait until her family came the next night. She literally did not talk about anything else."

"The last two weeks of living with Kate have been filled with one thing - discussion about her family, what to do with her family, and how cool her family is. That's all. It's getting a bit redundant at this point."

"I didn't even know Kate before Saturday, but by the end of the day, I knew everything about her family. Though I still don't know anything about her...it's kind of weird, actually."

Anyway. We basically did all we could while the 7 of them were here. Trying to cater to the interests of adults, teenagers, pre-teens, and youngsters is kind of a difficult task, but I think everyone enjoyed at least 30 minutes of the trip at some point, so I'm considering this a success. I was a little bummed because the weather was putrid while they were here - 50s at best, and rainy one day, yuck - but Chris and Co. were happy to take the blame for that, as it's just their luck to have terrible Spring Break weather. It was beautiful about a week later, so I really believe it was them. But I won't hold it against them. And the cherry blossoms didn't come out until two weeks after they left, if that makes everyone feel better - they didn't just miss them at all; on the contrary, the blossoms were super late.

I took a day off work to tour the city with them, and I basically took another unofficial day off, since trying to show 7 people, 2 of which never stop moving and running away, the Capitol building ends up taking roughly 3 hours (who knew?), even with skipping a whole section. But I like to think they got one or two facts to spout off to friends, and a number of other "maybe-truths" to confuse people with as well. As I constantly reminded them. I like to give unique, "Two Truths and a Lie" tours, to see if anyone's really paying attention. Is that statue really made out of gold? Is that chandelier really from the Titanic? Is there really a ghost cat walking around the Capitol? The world may never know.

But what am I doing still blabbing on? There are pictures to be had! You ready for this?

 A young Cleopatra? The girl knows how to look regal.

 Chris, Jodi, and the comedian/gangsta-wannabe. And the sitting area in my bedroom! Cute, oui?

"Daddy, your cheeks are sooo cute I just want to pinch them all day long!!!" she said as she downed her IHOP pancakes and macaroni & cheese. I went all out for this family, we hit all the local hotspot eateries (not).

 #omgoodnessiamsoinlovewiththispictureitmakesmesmilealmostasmuchaswhenithinkaboutdoggles

 Maddie and her mini-me. Amiright? Part of the tour where I tell the truth is when we get to this spot - the mark they're standing on is considered the most powerful place in the world - it is the exact center of the most powerful building in the most powerful city in the world. A person is said to receive extra power just by standing there. Neato! Next...

Telestrations, the new Barlow family game. Along with Sequence, Pound, and Crazy 8s. This may be one of my best drawings. #i'mnotanartist #hashtagsdontworkinblogs

 The three older kids at the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool behind them. Beautiful day, right? Aside from the chilly wind...which was never not blowing. Boo. But darling pictures of darling family. So, worth it. 

 It's a family picture! Thank you Lincoln memorial pillars.

 Siblings! With metro cards! Riding the metro! Everyone was great at picking up the metro etiquette right away. And Chris's hair was exciting!! (Thanks to Abby for saying that on one of Chris's old instagram pictures - it was referenced all week long. Sometimes I still mumble it to myself when I think of Chris and family being here...and then I smile.)

 I call this Where's Waldo: Chloe edition. Still one of my favorite pictures of the trip. Also, I am so impressed that they left DC with all the kids they brought. I thought for sure they'd lose one by the time they left...

 Oh hey, this stud of a 13-year-old and I are just hanging out on the train. NBD.

 Little Libster knows the sweet spots of the boys in her life - tickle Caleb's earlobes and he'll do anything for you. Caress dad's hair, and his heart is in your hand. It's exciting!

 This guy is a stud. Not many guys can pull off pink aviators and that pose - but Max is more than the average guy. He's a stud. And Libby is a photo bomber. Oh well.

Yeah, we had fun.

Highlights of the trip:

Meeting everyone at the hotel when they pulled up (finally!!!) at 11:30pm Saturday night...
Seeing Max chase after Libby at the Arlington National Cemetery, then take her hand and walk down the sidewalk with her (so cute!!!).
Talking fashion and other cool stuff with the older kids. I loved talking with the older kids. LOVED.
Not losing Chloe or Libby permanently
That one time when Libby yelled my name for me to hold her. I take what I can get.
Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake - this is mostly a highlight because I think it was the only tine the Barlows-WI experienced special, local eats in DC. I did not do a good job getting them to cool, fun places...#fail. Though we did get frozen yogurt! It's no midwestern frozen custard, but Chloe enjoyed the free candy buffet that was actually the not-free toppings selection...luckily the workers there are really cool and just laughed and shrugged off the snagged gummy worm.
Target. Always Target.
My darling easter basket that Jodi built me, which I, um, of course, uh, didn't open until Easter. Ahem.
Swimming at the hotel pool - I didn't actually swim, but from what I heard all week, that was a major highlight for Max, Chloe, and Libby. Monuments and history just can't compete, I know. I get it.
The 5-minute walk from the hotel to my house, when Chris and I got some very quick one-on-one chats in. Loved all of them.
Chris's parking jobs at the tiny hotel parking lot. He managed to fit Noah's ark in a sardine can.
My sass-off with Chloe at 10:30pm on their last night, after most of the other kids went to bed. "And then I was all, "OH NO YOU DI'NT! He is MY MAN. You go take your polyester hair extensions and your prado backpack and walk away. JUST WALK AWAY. That's right, the door is over there. Don't let it hit you on the way out." I think it actually started as a valley girl conversation circa 1985, but eventually went super urban. Chloe already had great sass in her, but I think I gave her some more depth to her catalogue by teaching her some extra phrases, like "step off" and "tubular."

Basically, it was a blast, and I'm so glad I could be chosen as a Spring Break destination! And I can't wait for them to come back in the Fall, when it's slightly less crowded (Spring Break is the worst time to live in DC...) and they can go see more stuff in hopefully better weather! I'm also quite pleased to know that Maddie, Caleb, and Max will be pushing for this Fall trip as much as I am. LOVE IT! Thanks for visiting! DC's great, especially with Kate! Tell all your friends!

Sitting On My Porch On a Warm Spring Morning

This is just a little poem I thought up while I sat on my porch last Sunday. I quickly wrote most of it down after coming inside, so it's a little rough, but I wanted to get it down somewhere. Third stanza pending. Thanks for indulging me!

Sitting On My Porch On a Warm Spring Morning

I sit on my porch,
The sun entombs me in its warmth,
And I will be happy if I never move again.
But then the breeze swirls me up,
Left, right, back, and again,
and my hair twirls, accepting its invitation
To dance,
and they move together as one,
Free and happy in the sunshine.

The sun is radiant, so I close my eyes
And my other senses take over.
The birds sign and call to each other
As though they're perched right next to me.
The bees buzz hello and goodbye
As they whiz past in their daily work.
The wind tickles my feet
And the sun blankets my outstretched arms.
The happy smell of fresh laundry floats by
In the air -
It comforts me and transports me to
The backyard of my childhood.
Spring is a season that indulges all of the senses.

Hi, My Name is Kate, and I'm a Ballerina

I went to a concert with some friends Saturday night. It was kind of last-minute, and it was kind of late in the evening - the main act went on stage at about 10:30pm! It was also the night before St. Patrick's Day/St. Patrick's weekend. Just for reference. Luckily, by the time I got there, the first opening act was over (though I hear they were great), and the second opener was really good, so it was worth the late start.

The venue was called the 9:30 club, and it's a little club with standing room on the ground level, and a few bleachers in the rafters. I've been there for a few shows, and I like it a lot, actually. It's a more intimate venue, and you can't really be too far from the band, which I think is great. I feel much more connected when I can actually see their faces, you know?

We ended up standing near the front, on the right side of the place, which was really great because the main act, Jukebox the Ghost, set up their awesome keyboardist on that side of the stage, so I got to watch him the whole time - and I was impressed. I kind of fell in love with him. But that's neither here nor there.

The best part of the night actually came during the 2nd opener, as my little group of friends and I were dancing to the band, Matt Pond. One guy in our group was really going at it - he likes to dance and he had a lot of energy - and this woman and man were right behind us. They were probably about 45 years old or so, and the guy was standing there, kind of swaying, but the woman was getting into the music a little more. At one point, she tapped my friend on the shoulder to say that she liked our other friend's dancing - and she made an immediate best friend, because he just ate that up. As did she - as he got more bouncy and into it, so did she just behind us (I could tell her energy by how often her purse bounced off me - it was a good gauge of how into the song she was. She liked most of the songs).

Then at one point, the woman tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see if she wanted to tell us more about how she loved our friend's dancing, but instead she came close to yell into my ear, "ARE YOU A BALLERINA??"

Slightly bewildered, I responded, "I was when I was little!" By little, I was referring to when I was 6 years old. Though I like to think, once a ballerina, always a ballerina. However, at the time, I probably wouldn't have legitimately claimed ballet as a talent.

The woman's eyes got really big and she smiled and said, "OH MY GOSH, HOW DID I KNOW THAT?!" Which left me unsure how to respond. Because I had no idea. But I'm guessing my hair pulled back in bun, albeit a messy one, had something to do with it.

Then she commented that I "have the aura of a ballerina, and that is so cool!!!!!" She sent a wish into the air that she could have that, and at this point, I had no idea how to respond other than with a couple very sincere thank-yous and bewildered looks about whether I should be taking her seriously right then or not (I decided I would, because I might as well).

Then she said I could (we could?) teach these boys a thing or two about dancing, and I laughed and said I working on it, and then I awkwardly turned back to the concert and tried not to feel too awkward and watched as I attempted to keep swaying to the music like I had been before.

But with more pointed toes, straighter posture, and feet in the 3rd position, of course.

Mmm, Girl: Older Gentleman Edition

I had to go back to work two nights this week, from 10-11pm (my life is the worst), for a conference call sort of thing that my boss was doing for people back west. I was there to help get people queued up to ask questions, so I talked to them first before quickly before getting them lined up on the call. Aside from the late nights, they were good calls, I had fun with my coworkers, and I talked to some really nice, thoughtful people.

One older gentleman stood out to me in particular, more so for his last comment before I transferred him than for the question he wanted to ask. The conversation ended with this:

Kate: "Well, thank you for your question, {name of older gentleman}, I'll add you to the queue."

Older Gentleman: " Great. And what's your name?"

K: "My name is Kate"

OG: "Oh! Like 'Kiss Me Kate'!"

K: "Ha, yup, I've heard that quite a bit before!"

OG: "Yeah...I bet you kiss a lot of guys, with this lovely voice that you have."

K: "uh, ha, well, thank you! And thanks for your question, I'll add you to the queue..."

He seemed like a really sweet older man. And we all know that compliment is getting stored away and remembered forever. I'm going to put it in my "self-esteem book" to boost me up later.

Okay, I don't actually have one of those books.

But I'm seriously considering starting one now.

The Snowstorm That Almost Was, But Wasn't Ever Really

Well, so much for that "Snowquester," or the "Sequestorm," as I like to call it when I feel like being different from everyone else.

The Federal Government, surrounding school districts, and countless private companies closed their doors today in anticipation of a giant snowstorm that could potentially ravage DC. Or not - we've all been here long enough to know that the District of Columbia has a weird effect on weather phenomena: it kills storms in its tracks.

However, we've all also lived here long enough to know that the imminent danger of a storm is just as effective as an actual storm in terms of getting a day off work and enjoying the benefits of a snow day.

The timing was just unfortunate for me, as the House was still in session (at least until the afternoon), and therefore, we were open and working. It was a bummer because I could really use a good free day off work (who couldn't??). But on the flip side - the commute was beautiful. No one was out. The trains were running quickly according to rush hour traffic, but there was no one on the trains. No one on the roads. No one anywhere. It was kind of great.

Until I remembered the reason no one was out and in my way was because they were all still tucked cozily in their beds.

Jerks.

I think the only way I came to terms with this non-snow day was in knowing that I would've been working as much had I been at home, canceling and rescheduling today's meetings and answering my boss's calls about random things, and I probably would've been annoyed by it all because it was my day off, my snow day! At least being at work, it was easy to move around the schedule and meetings with all my resources right in front of me, and my boss stayed busy with meetings, so it was just a normal day. Sometimes I think I'd be a great teleworker - and then I have to do work from home one time and I realize I'd be terrible at it. I'd always feel like I was privileged and shouldn't have to do as much. So it's probably good that teleworking is not an option in this job...

So anyway, I spent the Sequestorm working, acting like it wasn't really happening - which wasn't too hard, since it actually wasn't really happening. But I learned something today: I was meant to live in DC. They name everything here (the Snowquester, Snowmaggedon - maybe just snowstorms, actually), and I like a good nickname for meaningful events (I mean c'mon, all of our family reunions and gatherings are paloozas by name). This city and I get each other.

Farewell Snowquester!! May you and all your slushy rain keep our environment green and luscious! Thanks for ushering in Spring in spectacularly unimpressive fashion!

Oh Hey There.

Hey friends.

Remember that time that I had a blog and wrote in it and stuff? Yeah, me too. Those were the days.

I feel like this happens every couple months or so (or weeks, whatever) - where I have absolutely nothing to say.

I've been hibernating these last few weeks. It's been freezing out - 30s, feels like 20s, with terrible wind. Then a quick 50 degree day - Summer! - and then back to freezing. I recognize that my freezing is not like the freezing of other, colder regions, but it doesn't mean I haven't almost completed my transformation into an ice cube. A friend of mine said to me the other day that I was radiating freezingness. My lower legs were purple and were ice to the touch. It's been that way for the last few weeks...

And the cold has stalled my brain, so I have nothing to say! It's horrible, I hate it. The most mental activity I've been able to muster lately has been in practicing my lithp with a roommate and occasionally talking in a british accent. I honestly feel like I'm short-circuiting. Ahem...I mean, I'm thort-thircuiting.

But I suppose life has happened still. I'm still living, even if most of it is purely day-to-day survival mode.

There was a time in February where I went on a last-minute trip to Chicago, which was not a warm getaway, but it was a beautiful escape for a long weekend. And 50 games of Dr. Mario later, I came back to Virginia to find that 40 degrees was indeed warm compared to the -2 degrees that I left in the Midwest.

And I joined a gym closer to home, so I've found that to be a good way to both get me out of my house and warm me up quite nicely. It's also not too busy, which makes me very happy. Plus, two times I've gone, Marquette basketball has been on ESPN on the TVs, so I've been able to enjoy seeing them. The gym also allowed me to finally finish an audiobook I've been struggling through for the last 5 months...it just got really boring in the last 4 very long chapters...but I finished! I claim it as an accomplishment.

And I'm sure I've done a few more things, though if I think about it, I really can't recall having done anything at all.

Basically, I'm just waiting anxiously for Spring. I've pulled out my brightest articles of clothing and I shaved my legs (okay, I've done that all winter, but not terribly often, if I'm honest...). I'm in desperate need of some rebirth and life renewal. I'm about to turn into a zombie. And I've never really gotten into the whole supernatural zombie/vampire/werewolf trend going on, so I'd rather not turn into one.

So hurry up, Spring! At least get here in time for my brother's trip here with his family! I don't have enough good cold-weather activities to entertain them with!

But to end on a happy note (the complaining nature of this post is unfortunately a rather accurate portrayal of my attitude lately...), here's a song that kept me all sorts of spunky and peppy yesterday whenever I started to feel my energy lagging. It's my "I'm ready to live again!" song. Feel free to get up and dance if you'd like. I know you want to.